Seegene, the Power of Diagnostic Kits... Achieves Record-Breaking Performance

Seegene CI (Photo by Seegene)

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Chunhee] Seegene, a molecular diagnostics specialist company, recorded its highest-ever annual performance, driven by increased sales of diagnostic kits due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Seegene announced on the 17th that its consolidated provisional operating results for last year showed sales of 1.3708 trillion KRW. This represents a 21.8% increase compared to 1.1252 trillion KRW the previous year, continuing the company's best performance since its founding. Operating profit was 666.658 billion KRW, a slight decrease of 1.4% compared to the previous year, while net profit grew by 6.8% to 537.561 billion KRW.

This sales growth is analyzed to be influenced by the surge in demand for diagnostic reagents due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In particular, in the fourth quarter of last year, as the Omicron variant spread, sales reached 410.039 billion KRW, 6.8% higher than the market-expected 383.8 billion KRW. Operating profit was also recorded at 199.928 billion KRW, 9.4% higher than the expected 182.7 billion KRW.

Seegene's non-COVID products sales have also shown a steady increasing trend. Last year, sales of non-COVID diagnostic reagents such as cervical cancer (HPV), sexually transmitted infections (STI), and other respiratory diseases increased by 33% compared to the previous year, and sales of diagnostic equipment have also continued to grow.

Regarding the slight decrease in operating profit compared to the previous year, the company analyzed that it was "due to increased strategic investments in preparation for the post-COVID era and the future." Only last year, 75 billion KRW was spent on research and development (R&D), and as of the end of January, the number of employees reached about 1,100, double that of a year ago, reflecting active recruitment of talent.

Kim Beomjun, Executive Vice President of Seegene's management division, said, “We are considering various methods to fully enter the United States, the world's largest molecular diagnostics market. We will make every effort this year to strengthen the foundation for future growth by utilizing our funds to pursue strategic mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and by establishing meaningful turning points for transformation into a ‘molecular diagnostics platform company.’”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.